If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Gal. 5:25 KJV)
Life in the Spirit is the central theme of the New Testament Church. It is the essence that marked New Testament from the Old, the progression to completion of God’s determined counsel to institute His Kingdom and culture among men. It is the capstone of God’s creation and remediation plan that all things may conclude in Christ Jesus. There is a lot to glean from this contemplation.
To institute this plan to raise a Kingdom of People called His own, God said, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them… and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Ezek. 36:26-28). Notice, it is pursuant to God’s Spirit within a Man that marks life in the Spirit, making walk in the Spirit attainable.
It is folly therefore and indeed funny, for anyone to conceive and pursue life in the Spirit without being indwelt and directed by the Holy Spirit. It is this attempt to live the life of God without the Spirit of God that portends the massive enlistment of caricature Christians (sorry no abuse intended) who carry a form but are lacking power that backs the lifestyle they seek to project. This is abysmal.
Beloved, take good notice of how God thought to raise His people, He said, “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them…” The path to attaining God’s commandment is clearly marked here, “my spirit within you” takes foremost precedence and priority. Notice the effect of “my spirit within you”: It goes to say “and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Ezek. 36:27). Walking in the Spirit is our enablement by the indwelling Spirit of God to walk (live by) in the Statutes of God so as to keep His judgements and do them.
The bane of carnality in a Spirit filled Christian is the neglect of the promptings of the indwelling Holy Spirit to walk in the Spirit. It is the neglect of the “causing” by the Spirit to walk in God statutes that congregates people who are spirit filled but not spirit controlled. This is the focus of Paul’s admonition to the Galatian Christians when he said, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25)
Beloved, life in the spirit is clearly evident, it introduces itself by its effect, the “causing by the Spirit” that makes the Christian walk (live) by the statutes of God, keeping His judgements, the determination by God of what is true and right and compelling grace on the Christian to carry out (do) the instructions of God. This is “walking in the Spirit”. It is the physical evidence of inward leading by the Holy Ghost about which a Christian would confess as Jesus, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself [of His own accord], unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever things the Father does, the Son [in His turn] also does in the same way. For the Father dearly loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be filled with wonder.” (John 5:19-21AMP).
Beloved, if we live in the Spirit, we by the Spirit gain access to know what the Father wants us to do and doing them; we essentially are walking not as we would have walked but as God does…”follow me”, He saith. (Matt. 4:19 AMP)